The company has a problem managing its component suppliers as it has changed its order forecasts drastically and frequently following last year's unexpected slump in shipments. HTC has had difficulty in securing adequate camera components as it is no longer a tier-one customer.

In the U.S., the HTC One will launch on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. There are also reports that Verizon will sell the phone, but HTC hasn't confirmed that yet. (HTC recently launched the Droid DNA as a Verizon exclusive, so there's a chance Verizon wants to a wait a bit before launching another top-tier HTC phone.)

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The timing couldn't be worse for HTC. Samsung is expected to launch the new Galaxy S4 this spring, and that device has a lot more hype surrounding it than the HTC One does. A delayed HTC launch could give Samsung an even bigger advantage.